


Unstoppable Object, Immovable Force, and the Perfect Buffer

by LilliRonan



Series: Peter Parker and The Avengers [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Humor, M/M, No-stress fic, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-14
Updated: 2019-03-14
Packaged: 2019-11-17 19:02:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18104528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilliRonan/pseuds/LilliRonan
Summary: There was something viscerally devastating about seeing something in front of you that no one else seemed to pick up on. In this case, Peter knew that if they sat down and just talked, Bucky and Steve, and Tony could be Bucky and Steve and Tony without the separation.





	Unstoppable Object, Immovable Force, and the Perfect Buffer

**Author's Note:**

> This is just indulgent. It's gonna be part of a series, and that's about all I really know. Music for this piece is [Cut My Hair by Cavetown ft. Mounika](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jijvm8fIKGU) and [Good Intent by Kimbra.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaxFR5ZKavQ)

The table was silent apart from the clanking of silverware on plates and the dull  _thunk_ of cups being set back down. Peter twitched nervously in his seat, trying to push away the swelling apprehension that something had gone horribly wrong in the field. Sure, he'd been out during the fight against Doctor Doom's bots ( _again_ ) swinging around to help with the chaos, but he wasn't technically an Avenger and he wasn't on their com systems. There was a tenseness happening right now that Peter hadn't noticed until everyone had sat down for their meal.

Clearing his throat, Peter finally asked, "So... did the fight not go well today or...?" He let the open ended question hang there for what he felt like was a decent amount of time, and when it seemed like no one else was willing to speak up, he finally bulldozed on, "'Cause, I mean, I  _saw_ the news, and it seemed like everything went like... really well? So I'm not really getting this whole silent treatment at dinner thing."

Peter was pretty sure that if Tony were capable of somehow rolling his eyes harder than he did, he would. "Oh, nothing too much to concern yourself with, kiddo. Just some disagreements about how things should be handled on the field."

Somehow, it wasn't too surprising for him when Steve all but threw his fork down to put his full, undivided attention into glaring at the sulking mechanic in front of him, "' _Disagreements_?' Really, Tony, that's what we're calling it now? We're calling your inability to manage your own well being in the field a ' _disagreement_ '?"

Sinking back into his chair, Peter wished he'd never asked, sighing inwardly to himself as he watched the inevitable fight unfold in front of him. It was a pretty common one, and it probably wasn't going to become rare any time soon. Even after everything had been fixed after Tony's fallout with Steve during the Avenger's 'Civil War,' things between them were tense on the field. They had become professionals when it came to leaving work at the door, but every once in a while, Tony managed to do something Steve thought was irresponsible or unnecessarily dangerous. These were the nights Peter wished they would just sit down and talk about how they really felt. 

From the outside looking in, it seemed pretty undeniable that Steve's lectures and complaints about how Tony operated on the field were well meant. He wanted Tony to be safe, wanted him to take fewer risks, to rely on the team more. Tony never seemed to see past the front of Steve's leader mode, blinded by the criticism. 

What was unusual in this case, however, was Tony's added, "What do you  _think_ I was doing? I was working with Spiderman! It isn't my fault you can't get through your head of yours that I wasn't working alone!"

Peter's head snapped over to Steve, watching the back and forth like some sort of verbal ping pong match. "Spiderman isn't an Avenger! He isn't part of the team! Yes, we appreciate how he helps, but we don't even know who this guy is - _why on earth would you trust him with your life_?"

" _Maybe because he's a superhero and we all started some where_? The kid's clearly young! Can you really blame him for wanting to remain anonymous? Do you not remember what we go through whenever we go out in public?" Tony was gesturing wildly between the two of them, looking at the other man like he couldn't possibly be saying what Steve was actually, most definitely saying.

Peter swallowed the bite he'd had in his mouth, feeling his throat close around it a little too tightly, and winced. He'd known Steve hated that Spiderman wouldn't trust them with his identity. In all honesty, it was partly because of the unwanted attention Tony had mentioned, but his bigger reasons stemmed from other places. For one, it was what he knew - he'd been the anonymous, friendly neighborhood Spiderman since he'd started out to protect his Aunt May. Despite having moved out, she was still around, and he still visited her often enough that her safety was still a concern.

The biggest reason was that he was currently living with Tony Stark in Avenger's Tower while he attended college and interned with Stark Industries. Tony and his parents had known each other, and even though Aunt May was the best option for a guardian while he was growing up, now that he was trying to pay for schooling and start his adult life, he wouldn't be as much of a financial strain on Tony as he was on his aunt. This, unfortunately, made Spiderman-ing very difficult if he wanted to keep himself from getting caught. Of course he trusted Tony. Hell, he trusted the entire primary Avenger's team, but old habits die hard and Peter was having a hard time finding a good way to tell them he was secretly out fighting crime when they thought he was tucked upstairs writing college essays.

"Maybe," Peter said, cutting off the argument before it could get ugly, "Maybe Spiderman has people he's protecting. Or maybe he has other reasons you just don't know about. But... he's been around for a while now. Like, five years. If he was gonna do something bad, don't you think he would've by now?" He directed everything at Steve. Just because he didn't want them to know he was Spiderman didn't mean he wanted Steve to go down the thread of what-ifs until he found a reason to hate the vigilante without proper cause. 

Steve seemed to deflate at his well-made point. "I don't have all the facts." He relented, "I just- Tony, I just want you to stop putting yourself in the line of fire when you  _don't have to_. Not everything has to end like Manhattan." He glanced over to Bucky, seated just on the other side of him. The man gave a small smile and a smaller nod in encouragement, eyebrows lifting as if to say 'Argue like an adult please.' 

Peter had learned to interpret these looks with a concerted amount of time and effort. After the debacle in Siberia, things had been strained for the team, but more specifically between Bucky and Steve, and Tony. Bucky and Steve were a unit. It hadn't been quite as simple as picking up where they'd left off, but in the time away from the United States, they'd managed to slide their way back into a functional relationship. Since coming back to the United States and reconciling, the stiffness between the couple and Tony had slowly melted into fond camaraderie again, and surprisingly, Bucky was pretty good at mediating when Steve and Tony got too heated. 

There was something viscerally devastating about seeing something in front of you that no one else seemed to pick up on. In this case, Peter  _knew_ that if they sat down and just  _talked_ , Bucky and Steve, and Tony could be Bucky and Steve and Tony without the separation. Steve was an unstoppable force, Tony was an immovable object, and Bucky was just the right amount of vibranium-infused material to stop them before they all killed each other with their passion. It was well matched, in his opinion. Tony added an element of newness, kept things interesting, was generally unpredictable and selfless. Steve was loyal to a fault, brought in tradition and genuineness that gave the relationship solid roots. Bucky was the perfect buffer, able to take things and roll with them, and he was the metaphorical shelter in Tony and Steve's never ending storm of 'This is the right way to do things.' 

The three were a match made in heaven. Or they would be, if they could get their heads out of the sand. 

Peter was pulled out of his thoughts just in time to see that Tony and Steve had reached some sort of peace, judging by the softened expressions on both of their faces. He barely held back from gagging at the absolute  _affection_ radiating from them and he huffed out, "Please, I'm trying to eat!"

"You act like we're making eyes at each other or something!" Steve answered back, clearly amused. 

"Because you  _are_ making eyes at each other. I've pointed this out before." Peter said with a definitive bite of his food to punctuate his point. Steve floundered for a second, looking between Bucky and Tony to see if they were taking the bait today. Of course, all he got back in return was a wink from Bucky and a small shrug from Tony, which just seemed to send Steve spiralling farther into disbelief.

" _Guys tell him we are not flirting._ "

Bucky pursed his lips and answered back with a jaunty smile, "But aren't we flirting with him?"

There was silence at the table again, not even the clink of silverware in the background. Tony and Steve were both looking at Bucky like he'd grown a second head, and Peter felt a pleasant jolt of surprise. It seemed like things might change for the better after all.


End file.
